Belgium Erasing Christianity for Islam

Under the guise of letting go of the Christian holidays, this text provides Muslims with a waiver to add Islamic holidays…. Six Belgian senators introduced a draft resolution in the Belgian Parliament that would make "Islamophobia" a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment. A person would be guilty if he "considers Islam to be violent, threatening or supportive of terrorism…" or "considers Islam to be a political ideology, used for political and military purposes to establish it hegemony." If passed, the law would pose a devastating blow to the exercise of free speech in Belgium.

Wallonia, the French-speaking southern region of Belgium, has officially renamed the four major Christian holidays on the Belgian school calendar with secular names.

Critics of the move say it reflects an ongoing effort by politicians in Belgium to remove Christianity from public life to accommodate a burgeoning Muslim population.

The French Community of Belgium -- which has its own institutions, parliament and government, and has jurisdiction over the five provinces of Wallonia and over the Francophone population of Brussels in the areas of education and culture -- adopted a framework decree that formally establishes the new secularized names in the interests of "administrative simplification."

As reported by the center-right newspaper La Libre on March 26, school calendars within Belgium's French speaking community will permanently use the following terminology: the Christian holiday previously known as All Saints Day (Congés de Toussaint) will now be referred to as Autumn Leave (Congé d'automne); Christmas Vacation (Vacances de Noël) is now Winter Vacation (Vacances d'hiver); Lenten Vacation (Congés de Carnaval) is now Rest and Relaxation Leave (Congé de détente); and Easter (Vacances de Pâques) is now Spring Vacation (Vacances de Printemps).

Although these secularized appellations have been used intermittently over the past several years, the new decree formalizes their use on a permanent basis.

The move to "de-Christianize" the Christian holidays has been roundly criticized by those opposed to the relentless spread of multiculturalism in Belgium.

Some of the most vocal opposition has come from the Reformist Movement (Mouvement Réformateur, MR), an alliance of four center-right parties that together comprise the largest classical liberal political formation in French-speaking Belgium.

MR leader Françoise Bertieaux accused the Wallonian Minister of Education, Marie-Dominique Simonet, of pandering to Muslims at the expense of Christians. "Minister Simonet wants to push religion [Christianity] out the door, but the new decree actually opens the way for reintroducing religion [Islam] through the window. Under the guise of letting go of [Christian] religion and tradition, this text opens the way to new vacation days for other religions [Islam]. MR firmly regrets this new formula," Bertieaux said.

According to Bertieaux, Article 9, Paragraph 3 of the new decree provides Muslims with a waiver that would allow them to add Islamic religious holidays to the official school calendar.

The dust-up in Wallonia comes just months after city officials in Brussels removed the traditional Christmas tree in city's Gothic central square and replaced it with a politically correct structure of abstract minimalist art.

Critics accused the Socialist mayor of Brussels, Freddy Thielemans, of declaring war on Christmas by installing the "multicultural" structure of lights to avoid offending the city's growing Muslim population.

Historically, a 20 meter (65 foot) fir tree taken from the forests of the Ardennes has adorned the city's main square, the Grand-Place. In 2012, however, it was replaced with a 25 meter (82 foot) new-age-like structure of lighted boxes (see picture here). In addition, the traditional Christmas Market in downtown Brussels was renamed as "Winter Pleasures 2012."

The mayor's office, where more than half of the city's eleven councilors are either Muslim or Socialist or both, said the non-tree -- which cost the taxpayers of Brussels a total of €44,000 ($57,000), compared to €5,000 for the traditional tree -- was part of a theme celebrating "light."

City Councilor Philippe Close said the aim was to show off the "avant-garde character" of Brussels by blending the modern and the traditional to produce something new and different.

But Bianca Debaets, a Brussels councilor from the Christian Democratic and Flemish party, told the Flemish newspaper Brussel Nieuws that she believed an argument over Muslim religious sensitivities had prompted the Brussels City Council to put up the light sculpture.

"I suspect that the reference to the Christian religion was the decisive factor in replacing the tree," Debaets said. "For a lot of people who are not Christians, the tree there is offensive to them. What will be next? Will all Easter eggs be banned in Brussels because they refer to Easter?"

In an interview with the BBC News, Erik Maxwell, a resident of Brussels, said: "We think the tree has been put up for cultural reasons. A tree is for Christmas and Christians but now there are a lot of Muslims here in Brussels. So to avoid discussions they have just replaced a tree with a couple of cubes!"

After all the efforts to make Belgium more Islam-friendly, however, many Muslims say they still feel alienated from Belgian society.

According to a new survey of Muslim youth in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking northern half of Belgium, only 30% of Muslim males between the ages of 15 and 25 feel as though they are accepted by Flemish society. This figure drops to 25% for Muslim females in the same age group.

The survey, which was published by the daily newspaper Gazet van Antwerpen on April 19, shows that 60% of Muslim youth believe that they will never be integrated into Belgian society. One in three of those surveyed say that he or she has been discriminated against at school, and one in five say they have been discriminated against at work. More than 50% say they have been victims of racism. Although 93% of those surveyed have Belgian citizenship, 42% of them say they consider themselves to be foreigners.

The results are virtually unchanged from a similar survey conducted in 2005, and imply that years of government efforts to make Belgium more multicultural have done nothing to change the minds of Muslim youth.

According to the Flemish Minister for Integration, Geert Bourgeois, Muslim youth should work harder and complain less. "That so many young people feel discriminated against and do not feel accepted means that our society still has a lot of work to do. It's actually an 'us-them' story. We as a society can and should still make an extra effort, but conversely, Muslim youth should do more as well. Perhaps an inverted research shows that we just think that young Muslims do not belong because they do not want to belong," Bourgeois said.

If Belgian multiculturalists have their way, however, asking Muslims to do more to integrate into Belgian society may soon become a criminal offense.

In February, six Belgian senators (three of whom are Muslim) introduced a draft resolution in the Belgian Federal Parliament that would make "Islamophobia" a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment.

The draft text -- which, among other objectives, seeks to equate "Islamophobia" with anti-Semitism -- is audacious in scope and if passed would pose a devastating blow to the exercise of free speech in Belgium.

According to the authors of the resolution, a person would be guilty of Islamophobia if he or she:

Considers Islam to be a single monolithic bloc, closed and static, incapable of adapting to new situations;

Considers Islam to be separate and "different," devoid of having any aims or shared values ​​with other cultures, not influenced by other cultures and not influencing other cultures;

Considers Islam to be inferior to the West, to be barbaric, irrational, primitive and sexist;

Considers Islam to be violent, threatening and supportive of terrorism, actively engaged in a 'clash of civilizations';

Considers Islam to be a political ideology, used for political and military purposes to establish its hegemony;

Rejects out of hand criticisms made by Islam of 'the West';

Shows hostility towards Islam to justify discrimination and social exclusion of Muslims;

Accepts hostility toward Muslims as natural and normal.

This definition of Islamophobia, which is based on a 1997 report published by the London-based Runnymede Trust, would effectively outlaw any critical discussion of Islam in Belgium under the guise of combatting racism.

The draft resolution has outraged free speech activists, who are demanding more public scrutiny of what they say is a "draconian" measure that is contrary to liberal democratic values. But the sponsors of the text remain unapologetic.

In an interview with the daily newspaper Le Soir, Senator Richard Miller from Wallonia accuses critics of the resolution of trying to make the draft text say things it does not say.

Miller, a member of the same Mouvement Réformateur that has accused other Belgian politicians of pandering to Muslims, claims his measure is not meant to prohibit the criticism of Islam, but only to "fight against those who often use a variety of arguments, with the result of creating unease in the Muslim population."

Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-basedGatestone Institute. He is also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him onFacebook.

Comment on this item

29 Reader Comments

Jay • Sep 30, 2013 at 15:09

Hello, I don't believe anyone could argue the Muslims' rights to add their holidays to the calendar in any country that supports equality and freedom of religion. As long as they refrain from using any religious reference in the name, what valid argument could be made other than from the teachers and students whose break periods would likely be shortened due to course load and time constraints?

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Sparky • May 12, 2013 at 21:30

This is what happens when governments don't support their own citizens. The silent invasion comes about through the immigration of people from countries which they leave because of civil war or persecution. However, they bring their problems with them and then expect the host country to accommodate their demands. France is a good example of this, as are Holland and England. If I object to immigrants coming into the a host country and then complaining about that host country's accepted practices and social norms, then I am branded a racist.

I believe that it is the immigrant who should adapt, not the host country.

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Elsa • May 11, 2013 at 16:44

This would be unbelievable, except that this is actually happening.

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Mark Reetz • May 9, 2013 at 11:24

Revelation 12:17 describes a time when the earth will come under a time of Jews and Christians being persecuted worldwide. This persecution will be centered on those who believe in Jesus Christ. While this has not fully come yet, there have been times and places for the last 2,000 years it has appeared. There are many places in the world today that are Islamic where they kill Christians. The religion that will cover the whole world will have to have a peaceful existence with all beliefs. This is being accomplished in Europe and America by passing secular laws. The secular will demand by governmental penalties obedience to this religion of peace. The seed of it is happening now; even the current pope is involved....

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Mjazzguitar Mark Reetz • May 11, 2013 at 21:37

Not to mention a great falling away, which could pertain to current times. There are so many false teachers and religions. I feel sorry for those seeking the truth.

Christ said that unless those days are cut short, no flesh would survive.

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Caradak • May 9, 2013 at 07:09

This takeover can be stopped quickly: cut all the welfare benefits in the EU to the Muslims and they will leave - they live off benefits. You have to wonder whether this Islamization is a deliberate policy the way it is playing out... but who benefits in the EU from this...?

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Adrian • May 8, 2013 at 17:39

A few years back I read an article explaining how Islam develops in a place and the numbers of Muslims increases to 5%, 10%, etc. I had no idea, at that time, that it would ever happen the way it was told. Clearly it was on the button, and we are all in for some tough times ahead.

God help us all.

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Michal Ruizky • May 7, 2013 at 18:15

They are speaking about Muslims and Islam. That is religion and politics and not a race. Race would be Arabs. Wouldn't it? They do not even know what they are speaking about.

But if they want to punish people for commenting negatively on religion or politics, they shoud also punish the Belgian Muslims when they do that against Christianity or any kind of politics. That will be the end of freedom of speech in Belgium. Very edificant for West Europe and the EU capital! Our politicians should feel some shame by times.

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Cameron • May 7, 2013 at 17:58

How so very utilitarian of you Belgium; really, you've outdone yourself. You've bent over backwards to try and appease the Muslim population and yet they still feel ostracised. Why should Muslims be specially protected comparatively to Christians, and why is anyone who challenges Islam considered an Islamophobe? Mankind has always been seperated by beliefs, but they are also able to scrutinize, debate, and come to a consensus on which beliefs are grounded in truth. But when a man is labeled as a (insert word here) phobe simply because he challenges the ideals, values, and practices of another belief, it is incredibly boorish and counterproductive. No man's belief should be excused from analysis, refutation, and confirmation. I don't care if they claim to be atheist, Christian, Musilm, Jewish, Humanistic, or irreligious: it is my right to refute and assess all the ideals they put before me and come to a conclusion.

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Servant • May 7, 2013 at 16:44

Islam will have its run, for a while, but eventually it will lose to the One and only True, Living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jesus will in fact return. He cannot be stopped. Praise the Lord!

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Ex-Muslim Servant • Sep 6, 2013 at 13:07

That is really a shock. The authors are totally deceiving, because the points mentioned in the resolution are reflecting what Islam actually is. This is one of the Muslim's agenda of Islamizing a country. Islam is all about violence, domination, and killing those who oppose its book, beliefs, and leaders. God help Belgium!

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Randy • May 7, 2013 at 16:02

This isn't multiculturalism. This is monoculturalism. Wipe out the old traditions that have blended together from hundreds of years of growth from all parts of the world in favor of one religion: Islam. You all know what's coming and you know you can't fight it--why don't you just change all the laws to Sharia law too? You know that will happen anyway. Lay down and take it; give in to Islam. Pray to your angry god.

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John Rodda • May 3, 2013 at 02:15

We are witnessing the suicide of the once-great European civilization. Western Europe is heading towards a collection of Islamic states.

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Januk36 • May 2, 2013 at 09:13

I'm not religious but Christmas has always been special to me, and I am seeing that the beloved non-Christian tree is no longer tolerated in the "capital" of the EU is fueling warmth for those who claim to feel alienated. Get over it - I have immigrants in my own family and they had their share of alienation to overcome without whining.

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Kyle Wallace • May 1, 2013 at 18:47

Churchill on Islam

Unbelievable, but the speech below was written in 1899 (check Wikipedia - The River War)! I am sending the attached short speech from Winston Churchill, delivered by him in 1899 when he was a young soldier and journalist. It probably sets out the current views of many, but expressed in the wonderful Churchillian turn of phrase and use of the English language, of which he was a past master. Sir Winston Churchill was, without doubt, one of the greatest men of the late 19th and 20th centuries.

He was a brave young soldier, a brilliant journalist, an extraordinary politician and statesman, a great warleader and Prime Minister, to whom the Western world must be forever in his debt. He was a prophet in his own time. He died on 24 January 1965, at the grand old age of 90 and, after a lifetime of service to his country, and was accorded a State funeral.

Here is the speech:

"How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries, improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live.

A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement, the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.

Individual Muslims may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it.

No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step, and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome."

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Mjazzguitar Kyle Wallace • May 10, 2013 at 11:43

I wonder if one would be in violation of the proposed law if he or she quoted Churchill?

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Jon Danzig Kyle Wallace • Nov 15, 2013 at 11:27

EU Commission President José Barroso has called for a revival of Winston Churchill's vision for a kind of 'United States of Europe'. Nonsense, responded the eurosceptics. Churchill was 'one of us' and he would've voted UKIP! Who's right? See my latest 'EU ROPE' blog:

Perhaps the signs are already here in, for much the same thing to happen here in Australia, more-so especially under a Socialist government - bearing in mind the attempted movement to eliminate Christmas carols in schools and also other Christian references in our society, as well as proposals to rename Anzac Day "Soldiers Day," which I understand is with reference to the Muslims so as not to 'offend' them. Somehow I think Aussies in general will 'wake up' too late to realize what is and could happen in this country. The present politicians on both sides of the political spectrum either can't - or won't - see the dangers that Islam in general pose to our Aussie Christian values and way of life. A policeman, whom I know, said to me recently that at the present rate of 'Islamization' of Australia, we will become a Muslim country within 20 years... a frightening thought!

2) buying ticket to the USA and integrating into their society as fast as one can

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Patryk • May 1, 2013 at 04:15

The Flemish are smart people. It may be time for them to finally depart from the silly fiction that was Belgium and let Wallonia turn itself into a province of Saudi Arabia, complete with its own emir.

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Roger Harrison • May 1, 2013 at 01:52

I attended a church in Belgium a few years ago, and found out to my dismay that Jesus was not welcome there and had been locked out. Small wonder then, to find Satan filling the empty spaces with an apostate religion, Islam, and the false god Allah.

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Mags of Oz • Apr 30, 2013 at 20:53

When a person chooses to live in another country and takes out citizenship in that country, they can hardly complain about the religious status of that country. They are generally accommodated in being alowed to practice their religion without penalty, and all that is asked of them is that they live up to their oath of citizenship and become part of the nation. If they are unable or unwilling to do that, then they are better off in countries where their customs and religion is the norm. It seems a bit ungrateful that they would expect their host country to change its ways to suit them. Would people who are not followers of Islam be extended the same freedom should they choose to live in a Muslim country? I have never understood this need for Muslims to wish to live in societies that are diametrically opposite to their own beliefs and customs. The other thing which disturbs me is that those one would expect to uphold the cultural values of their society are the prime movers in forcing this change on their citizens. Did anyone ask them if they wished these changes?

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Steven Buckley • Apr 30, 2013 at 17:57

"...six Belgian senators (three of whom are Muslim) introduced a draft resolution in the Belgian Federal Parliament that would make "Islamophobia" a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment."

Hilarious.

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Adrian Steven Buckley • May 10, 2013 at 05:47

A phobia is a fear of something. It's not necessarily irrational. Is someone with claustrophobia a bad person? With some people the size of the space determines the level of the phobia. With agoraphobia, as the space increases in size the phobia gets greater.

Islamaphobia is a rational fear of Islam, and it's not racist to fear a Muslim with a bomb strapped to him. When numbers of agressive jihadis are low and restricted, most people are happy to have Muslims in their midst living life as they do. As the numbers increase, so does the danger and thus the phobia.

You can't tell a person it's wrong to fear anything any more than you can't tell a depressed person that they are happy. Why is Islamophobia considered by some to be racist? It's just the body's natural protection against danger and is a sensible reaction. That could save a life.

Pity more Jews didn't have Naziphobia and got out of their way in the 30s. They might have survived.

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Dallas • Apr 30, 2013 at 15:43

Here are some stats of how many of different countries' citizens would be criminals in Belgium if this truth-destroying law were to be in effect. These are the percentages of the public who believe Islam is a threat and does not belong in Western nations:

Muslims will always feel alienated from Belgian society because they refuse to be Belgian. And the more compassionate the Belgians become to Muslim alienation, the more demanding the Muslims will get. Just like what's happening in Israel. As a corollary, Belgian secularists are busy stamping out the despised Christianity, creating a vacuum that can only be filled by Islam. Someday they will wake up to the ugly reality that they were better of with the kinder religion they rejected, but it will be too late. In any case, Europe always hated the Jews, so now they get the Arabs. Let them chew on their destiny a while.

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Bonnie Loranger • Apr 30, 2013 at 10:14

Belgium is near gone. It will likely soon be an Islamic country. How sad.

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Charles Kamerman • Apr 30, 2013 at 08:45

I do not care much for Putin, but for his declaration about the minority who lived in Russia is the only way that guest countries can absorb these minorities in their communities. On February 4th, 2013, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, addressed the Duma, (Russian Parliament), and gave a speech about the tensions with minorities in Russia:

"In Russia live Russians. Any minority, from anywhere, if it wants to live in Russia, to work and eat in Russia, should speak Russian, and should respect the Russian laws. If they prefer Sharia Law, then we advise them to go to those places where that's the state law. Russia does not need minorities. Minorities need Russia, and we will not grant them special privileges, or try to change our laws to fit their desires, no matter how loud they yell 'discrimination'. We better learn from the suicides of America, England, Holland and France, if we are to survive as a nation. The Russian customs and traditions are not compatible with the lack of culture or the primitive ways of most minorities. When this honorable legislative body thinks of creating new laws, it should have in mind the national interest first, observing that the minorities are not Russians."

The politicians in the Duma gave Putin a standing ovation for five minutes.

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Davor Charles Kamerman • Jul 12, 2013 at 06:39

Putin is the authority! I think there is hope, and eventually these countries will realize mistakes they are doing. Poor European nations, you don't really get it what's coming for you. You may think it sounds like fascist, but Muslims will surely overtake your countres in matter of 50 years, and in terms of timing that is not much. Think of my comment as a scam, but multiculturalism and liberalism are going﻿ to change Europe's face forever. Surely I don't have anything personal against Muslims, as I have Muslim friends; but their ideology is to become dominant in all spheres of life, so you better wake up.

Numbers always tell the truth, and their population is heavily growing, while Europeans are falling down dramatically. I come from Bosnia. I am a Croat, a Catholic, and I live my whole life among Muslims, and I know ther intentions. I respect all people: atheists (by the way, I have two of my best friends being with﻿ atheist agnostic beliefs), Muslims, and Buddhists; but I also expect others to respect me.

Islam is not going to be integrated in﻿ democratic-liberal society. Muslims will put their own rules and standards of living, as soon as they are majority. The time bomb is ticking, and the West will sooner or later face the truth - that their lands and culture have been changed forever, just because of being too hospitable and too liberal, and not showing their stance. "Historia est magistra viate" - remember 732 AD, 1529 AD (Niklas Graf Salm), 1571 AD, 1683 AD...

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